Mark Vientos begins on-field work in recovery from hamstring injury

Initial imaging showed that Vientos appeared to avoid the worst case scenario with his right hamstring, which he injured coming out of the batter's box in extra innings last Monday. After that relief, the third baseman is now trying to return to the field as soon as possible, especially after the hamstring inflammation dissipated.

Despite these efforts, Mets manager Carlos Mendoza stated that Vientos "would likely" need a rehab assignment before returning to major league action.

The timing of the injury was unfortunate for Vientos, who had been showing signs of busting out of a recent slump. After a tough first two weeks of the season, Vientos hit the injured list batting .230 with six home runs, 21 RBI, and a .678 OPS in 53 games.

Vientos had ceded time at third base to Brett Baty, getting more work at the DH slot, but he will now have to fend off a surging Ronny Mauricio for playing time as well. Mauricio, who got recalled from Triple-A Syracuse after Vientos got hurt, went 5-for-11 with a towering home run and four runs scored in Colorado over the weekend.

The fact that Vientos is already hitting and jogging is good, but the Mets won't have a good idea of a time table for his return until he is able to run without an issue. Hamstring injuries are notoriously tricky and can easily be re-aggravated, so it makes sense for Vientos to begin a rehab assignment and make sure he can withstand playing full games without further injury to that hamstring.